Work Text:
To say that Liam is surprised to find the bus gone when he comes out of the shop would be a lie - it's not the first time this has happened. Still, Liam's stomach still twists at the thought that no one even bothered to check. And it's not like they're in another country or something, only a day trip to a local museum, but he's not really sure how much is on his Oyster card and he'd spent all his money earlier at the museum on a sick little turtle key chain that reminded him of Boris and now he's not sure how he's going to get home--
Panicking about it isn't going to help though, so Liam takes a deep breath and lets it out; maybe the shop owner will let him use the phone to call his Nicola since his mum's still at work.
He turns to head back inside, bumping into someone and getting a mouthful of hair in the process. Liam immediately starts apologizing, stuttering to a stop when the lad grins at him. He's got a wide mouth and dimples. Also really pretty green eyes. Liam can feel his face turning red.
"How long do you think until they realize?" Green Eyes asks. Liam's distracted enough he almost says realize what before he remembers.
Instead, he just shrugs, swiping his fringe out from his eyes. The air is stupidly humid today and Liam can feel all the hard work with the straightening iron this morning going right in the trash bin. Liam glances at the other boy's own curls and has a moment of quiet jealousy. They're ridiculous, an unruly mess, but somehow they really work for him. Liam sighs.
"'m Harry," the kid says, and smiles wider. The dimple deepens and Liam focuses very hard on not staring at Harry's mouth. It's just that he talks slow, deliberate like, and Liam is having a hard time not being distracted by the way his mouth moves.
The fact that he had his first kiss last week may or may not have something to do with it. It's like, ever since then, Liam's been totally obsessed with lips and how they look and feel and move and--
Harry's no longer talking.
And Liam is totally staring at his mouth. He vaguely recollects a definite uplift in tone at whatever Harry said last. "I'm sorry, what?"
Liam watches Harry's mouth widen, the dimples re-appearing, then forces himself to look up. There's definite amusement in Harry's stupid green eyes and Liam can feel his cheeks heating up again. "Sorry," he mumbles, looking away.
Maybe if he wishes hard enough, the bus will come back. Although at this point, Liam's not sure which would be more embarrassing - Harry pretty much knowing that Liam was thinking about kissing, or everyone laughing when Liam got back on the bus.
A shoulder bumps his. Harry's not quite as tall as him, a bit soft when he knocks a hip against Liam's a moment later. Liam swears his face is going to melt off soon, what with how red it must be by now. He makes himself look at Harry, repeating, "What?"
Harry slings an arm around his shoulders, his curls bouncing a little with the movement. "Why don't you ditch and come with me?" Harry's eyes light up. "How 'bout milkshakes? There's a great place up the street a bit."
Liam's eyes widen. Harry starts moving and Liam does too so that he'll not trip. "But--" why would you want to hang out with me?, he thinks just as Harry adds, "I'll get my mum to drive you home later."
He's still trying to form words, trying to figure out what the catch is when Harry's smile tones down, the look on his face gets a little more serious. "You look like you could use a milkshake, my lad."
"Liam."
Harry tilts his head.
"My name," Liam stutters a bit, "It's Liam. Liam Payne." The dimples are starting to reappear, and when Liam adds, "If we're going for milkshakes, you should at least know my name, yeah?" they're full-blown.
"Proper date-like, don't you think?" Harry's smile is so wide Liam wonders if it doesn't hurt. Also, he can feel his own face getting hot again.
"I'm a nice boy though, I don't put out on the first date." Liam can believe those words came out of his mouth and he's a second away from, well, he's not sure, throwing himself into the road maybe, when Harry barks out a laugh and then throws his hand over his mouth, eyes wide. Even with his mouth covered, Liam can tell he's smiling. He probably shouldn't feel as proud as he does at that.
Harry drops his hand and sure enough, there's a wide smile on his face. "Well, Liam I-don't-kiss-on-the-first-date Payne, let's go see if I can change your mind."
He drops his arm from around Liam's shoulder and slips his hand into Liam's, tugging him forward. After a couple of steps Harry glances back, curls flopping across his forehead, and smiles again.
Liam's fairly certain it's not going to be that hard.